Self-purging pressure dispenser valve



Dec. 17, 1968 J. A. @Ross SELF-PURGING PRESSURE DISPENSER VALVE Filed Oct. 23, 1967 JEPOME A. GOSS United States Patent O 3,416,711 SELF-PURGING PRESSURE DISPENSER VALVE llrerome A. Gross, 6304 S. Rosebury, Clayton, Mo. 63105 Filed Oct. 23, 1967, Ser. No. 677,360 Claims. (Cl. Z22-402.18)

ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE A tilt valve for pressure dispensers operates with the container in upright position, tilting in one direction for dispensing and in the opposite direction to purge the valve with gas from the container head-space. An annular, resilient valve seat has a skirt which serves as a hood around the outer edge of the valve head. On tilting, the point of pivoting will be at this edge. A dip tube is directly attached to the valve head at the side to which the head is tilted for dispensing; while resilient deformation of the seat surface at the point of pivoting maintains the purging channel closed.

Background of the invention This invention relates to valves for pressurized dispensing cans, commonly used for shaving lather and other foams, for unfoamed liquid or semi-fluid products, and when equipped with spray nozzles, for hair sprays, deodorants, paints and other consumer uses. More particularly, it relates to such valves to be opened by a tilting movement.

After a single dispensing, product residue remaining in the valve may deteriorate or harden. Heretofore, such valves have not had the capability of purging themselves.

Two general types of mounting means for such valves have been employed. One type, intended for operation in erect position, utilizes a raised hollow cylindrical pedestal in the container top, containing a sealing washer and tubular stem valve. In the pedestal is also held a plastic reducer or nipple, which extends beneath the valve and holds a vertical flow-communicating tube, which extends downward to near the bottom of the container. Typical is the valve shown in the U.S. Patent No. RE 25,879.

A second type utilizes an apertured container top, through which extends the upper tubular end of an annularly enlarged seal within. The valve therein may have a solid stem, as in U.S. Patent No. 2,612,293, or a hollow stem, as in U.S. Patent No. 3,132,774. It is believed that no valve of this type in common use has a flow-communicating tube; hence the container must be inverted before this type of valve is operated. Nevertheless, U.S. Patent No. 2,965,270 shows that intricate and expensive provisions will serve to mount a flow-communicating tube to such a valve. However, this has required mounting a plastic reducer within a large-diameter skirt depending from the valve seal, the reducer having a sufhciently large inner diameter to provide clearance around the valve head for opening movement.

Summary of the invention The present invention offers the advantages of operation in erect position, without tilting, and yet brings about great simplifications in construction; it also has the new function of purging the valve with gas from the container head-space. These and other advantages will be apparent from the drawings and the detailed specification which follows. summarizing generally for purpose of illustration and without limiting the scope hereof, a preferred embodiment of this invention utilizes the following parts:

A resilient tubular seal having an annular seating surface formed between a large central bore and an outer depending skirt;

A solid stem valve mounted spacedly in the bore, whose head seats against the seating surface, the outer edge of the head being sealed by the skirt regardless of head displacement (except on gassing, when the skirt blows outwardly therefrom);

A flow-communicating tube mounted in a vertical uplow passage in the valve head near the head edge at one side of center, so as to be sealed except when that side of the valve head is moved downward; and

A dispensing tip externally mounted in How communication with the tubular seal, keyed to the valve stem so that its nozzle outlet is in angular registration with the up-ow passage in the head.

For dispensing, the valve is tilted, to pivot at the edge of its head on the side opposite to the up-ow passage. However the dispensing tip, mounted on the tubular wall of the seal, tends to pivot in a path about a center on the vertical axis. The divergence of these two paths of tilt is overcome by tension in the valve stem, which on tilting draws the edge of the head, at the point of pivoting, tightly against the resilient seat and compressibly deforms its surface to maintain an area of sealing.

In this area a purging channel is provided for ow of head-space gas to the seating surface inwardly of the skirt. Such deformation of the seat maintains the purging channel closed when the valve is tilted for dispensing. For purging, the valve is tilted in the opposite direction, opening the purging channel while sealing the up-ow passage from the flow-communicating tube. Discharge of headspace gas through the valve purges it of residues.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a valve assembly embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section taken along line 2*2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial front elevation of the members shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section taken along line 4 4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary schematic view corresponding to FIG. 1, shown as gas is inserted under pressure from an external source.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the valve opened by tilting for dispensing.

FIG. 7 is aview similar to FIG. 6 showing the valve opened by tilting in the opposite direction, for purging.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring to FIG, l, a conventional single use container a adapted to hold a uid under gas pressure, has a mouth b in which is sealedly crimped a conventional container top or mounting cup c having a flat upper surface d with a circular aperture e defining a vertical axis f. A resilient elastic seal member, generally designated 10, is preferably formed of natural or synthetic rubber. In the preferred embodiment the seal 10 includes an upwardly extending tubular wall portion 11 having, near its lower end, an external projecting annular flange 12 which overlies the flanged aperture e and serves as means to mount the seal member 10 therein. The tubular wall portion 11 is concentric with the axis f, and leads downwardly to a concentric seal outlet bore 13 whose diameter corresponds with the inner diameter of the tubular wall portion 11. The outlet bore 13 is formed at the center of a radially enlarged and thickened body portion 14, whose upper surface 15 is presented sealedly against the under side of the mounting cup flat surface d.

Ann/ularly outward of the lower end of the 4bore 13 is, and forming part of the under surface of the body portion 14, a valve seat portion 17. Concentric with the axis f, it extends radially outward to an integral downwardextending skirt 18. The inner surface 19 of the skirt 18 is cylindrical; and its bottom edge 20 is sufllciently ilexible to function as an annular sealing member. The body portion 14 between the seat portion 17 and the upper surface 15, is sufciently thick to deform resiliently under pressure, as seen in FIGS. 6 and 7.

A valve member, generally designated 25, is formed of a plastic material which is relatively rigid, `considere-d in contrast to the elastic flexibility of the seal member 10. It includes a stem portion 26, normally (i.e., when the valve is closed) concentric with the axis f. At the base of the stem 26 and concentric therewith is a disk-like head portion 27. Starting spacedly outward from the base of the stem portion 26, and normally presented against the seat surface 17 of the seal 10, is the valve head closing surface 28. The head portion 27 terminates radially outward in a substantial cylindrical peripheral surface 29 which is received within and sealedly engaged by the inner surface 19 of the seal skirt 18. The skirt 18 thus serves as means which a'but sidewardly against the head 27 to restrain any lateral movement thereof.

Penetrating the head 27 and extending upward to a portion of the closing surface 28 which is normally presented against the seat surface 17 of the seal 10 is an upflow passage 30 having a counterbore 31 in the under surface of the head portion 27. Preferably the up-flow passage 30 is located as close to the peripheral surface 29 as is feasible; in any event, it is located sideward of the outlet bore 13.

Engaged in the counterbore 311 Iand in flow communication with the up-tlow passage 30 is the upper end of a downward extending flow-communication tube such as the tip tube 33; its lower end is spaced close to the bottom of the container a. Together with the tip-flow passage 30, it serves as means, normally closed by the valve seat 17, to permit flow, when the valve is opened, of a lluid from a lower level within the container a, upward therethrough and thence outward through the tubular wall portion 11.

At the side of the head portion 27 opposite to the upflow passa-ge 30 are means to provide flow communication, between the peripheral surface 29 and the skirt 18, to the valve seat 17. Such means serve as a purging ohannel, whereby gas within the container a may be directed over the closing surface 28 beneath the valve seat 17, to and out of the outlet bore 13. The preferred form of purging channel means is a vertical slot 34, whose operation is shown in FIG. 7. Alternately a groove in the inner cylindrical surface 19 of the skirt 18 may be used, or a slot or channel therethrough. The advantage of the purging slot 34 in the valve head portion 27 is that its fixed position, diametrically opposite to the up-flow passage 30, permits random angular alignment of the valve member with the seal member 10.

The stem 26 terminates upwardly in a key-shaped stem end 36 as best shown in FIG. 2. From a substantial cylindrical stem portion 37, a radial keying projection 38 eX- tends, having a downwardly presented slide surface 39. The projection 38, in the embodiment illustrated, extends in an angular direction from the axis fwhicih corresponds with the sideward location of the up-flow passage 30. In any embodiment, it is intended that the projection 38 be indexed at a pre-determined angle (here zero degrees) to such sideward location, to key in angular alignment thereon a dispensing tip member generally designated 40.

The dispensing tip member 40 is formed by molding a plastic which is rigid or, at least, is substantially more rigid than the elastic resilient seal 10. It has two principal portions: a sideward directed nozzle outlet 41, and a lower sleeve-like portion 42 which engages the tubular wall portion 11 of the seal 10 along its outer surface, commencing with its upper end and continuing downward to its flange 12. The sleeve-like portion 42 engages the seal tubular wall portion 11 in a flow-conducting relationship. At its lower margin the sleeve-like portion 42 has an annular projecting seat 43 which overlays the flange 12 of the seal 10. Since it is conventional to coat seals such as the seal 10 with a lubricating fluid, the engagement of the annular seat 43 on the flange 12 serves as a circular track on which to turn the dispensing tip 40 into alignment.

The nozzle outlet 41 and lower sleeve 42 meet at a horizontal juncture wall 44 whose lower surface engages the upper end of the seal tubular wall 11 and whose upper surface is part of the lower surface of the nozzle outlet 41. Formed in the juncture wall 41 is a keyhole-like stern retaining and flow communicating aperture 45, best shown in FIG. 2. It has a central circular bore portion 46 of suflicient ydiameter to receive and bear against the cylindrical portion 37 of the stem 26, and a slot portion 47 at one side thereof (the upper side as shown in FIG. 2) to receive the stem projection 318.

The nozzle outlet 41 extends sideward substantially perpendicular to the axis f. Its lower inner surface includes a central channel-like depression 48 forwardly of the circular bore 46 of the keyhole-like aperture 45. The width of the channel-like depression 48 between adjacent higher side surfaces 49, is slightly greater than that of the projection 38 of the key-shaped stern end 36.

As a rear wall for the nozzle outlet 41, the dispensing tip member 40 has a forward and upward sloping thumb pad actuator portion 51. Conveniently, a thick flat top portion S2 is provided in the region of the axis j, to receive downward forces attendant to assembly and gassing.

In assembling the valve described, the sezd 10 is forced upwardly through the circular aperture e until its flange 12 snaps elastically into position overlaying the flange of the aperture e. The valve member 25 is inserted with its key-shaped stem end presented upwardly through the tubular wall portion 11 of the seal 10, and its valve head portion 27 is seated within the skirt 18, against the seal seat portion 17, the dispensing tip member 40 is then superimposed, not at the angle of final assembly shown in FIG. 1, but wtih its nozzle outlet 41 at 90 thereto, as indicated by the projecting line g in FIG. 2. So superpositioned, the slot portion 47 of the .juncture wall 44 will pass downwardly over the projection 38 of the key-shaped stem end 36. Pressure exerted on the flat top portion 52 slightly compressed the seal flange 12, so that the lower slide surface 39 of the projection 38 may slide upon the side surface 49 adjacent to the slot portion 47 as the dispensing tip member 40 is turned through the 90 angle indicated in FIG. 2. The projection 38 will then seat in the channel-like depression 48, in angular alignment with the sideward location of the up-flow passage 30.

Pressuring gas may be applied through the nozzle outlet 41 in any conventional manner, such as by applying a pressurizing head (not shown) over the assembly illustrated and sealing it against the `container mouth b. The pressurizing gas will blow the valve head portion 27 downward and deflect the skirt 18 to permit the inflow of gas into the container a. Compression in the tubular wall portion 11 and annular flange 12 will elastically resist such downward movement. If desired, such gassing may be facilitated by mechanically applying a downward force onto the flat top portion 52 of the dispensing tip member 40. Release of the gassing pressure and of such mechanical force results in restoration of the parts to the closed position shown in FIG. 1.

Dispensing is effected in the manner shown in FIG. 6. A force is applied to the thumb pad surface 51 to cause tilting. If the `dispensing tip 40 and the valve member 25 were not locked together at the valve stem end 36, the tip 40 would tilt about a center on the axis f, first moving tangent thereto; while the valve stem end 36 would move in an arc about the valve pivot point adjacent to the skirt 18, far sideward from the axis f. The greater the tilting, the greater would be the divergence of these paths of tilt. This divergent tendency can be accommodated only by compressing and deforming the seal member 10, both at its seat surface 17 and at its tubular wall 11 and flange 12.

Hence, because the valve stem 36 locks the valve member against downward movement relative to the dispensing tip and prevents any divergence of their paths on tilting, its `stem portion 26 experiences tension, which draws the head portion 2'7 forcibly against the resilient seat surface 17, deforming it adjacent to the point where the valve member pivots, at the juncture of the seat surface 17 and skirt 1S. This corresponds to the location of the vertical purging slot 34. Accordingly, the purging slot 34 remains sealed as the up-ow passage 30 is opened for dispensing. Contents of the container a at a level reached by the flow communication tube 33 will thus pass upwardly through the up-ilow passage 30, between the closing surface 28 and the valve seat portion 1'7, to the bore 13 and thence between the stem portion 26 and the tubular wall portion 11 to the keyhole-like aperture 45. Although the cylindrical portion 37 near the key-shaped stem end 36 may substantially fill the circular bore portion 46 of the aperture 45, the contents so discharged will pass through the slot portion 47 and thence sidewardly outward through the nozzle outlet 41. When the lateral force is released, the resiliency of the seal member restores the parts to the FIG. l position. As with conventional tilt valves, controlling the tilting of the dispensing tip member 40 effects control over the rate of ow.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 7, when for purging the dispensing tip member 40 is tilted in the opposite direction (as by grasping with the fingers and pulling backward) the purging slot 34 is opened to permit flow of gas from in the head space above the other contents of the container a, to pass purgingly between the lseat 17 and the head portion 27, through the tubular wall portion 11 around the stem portion 26, and thence through the slot portion 47 of the keyhole-like aperture 45 to the nozzle outlet 41. The outflow of such head-space gas may be highly effective to purge the valve assembly of undischarged remains of dispensed substances, which might otherwise harden or deteriorate therein. Deformation of the seat surface 17 at the side corresponding to the up-ow passage maintains this passage closed in the 4same manner as has been described.

Uniquely in the present invention, the pivoting of the valve head portion 27 'as it tilts downward from the seat portion 17 does not disturb the sealed engagement of the elastic skirt 18 about the valve head peripheral surface 29. Thus, the head portion 27 operates in effect within an elastically hooded chamber, whose chambered space is created by such downward displacement of the valve head portion, and into which the fluid Within the container is pressure driven through the up-ilow passage 30 and from which it flows to the outlet bore 13.

Throughout this description it has been assumed that for tilt-opening to dispense, the thumb pad 51 would be pressed forward, to so tilt the valve member 25 as to draw down the forward portion of its head 27, in which the up-ow passage 30 is located. With slight modification, however, an opening tilt movement may be applied in the opposite direction; for example, in place of the thumb pad 51, a rearward extending lever might have been provided, to be pressed downward for dispensing and upward for purging. With such a modified actuating tip member, the keying arrangement would be modified so that the nozzle outlet would be indexed and retained at an angle of 180 from the up-ilow passage 30. In interpreting the claims, the equivalency of such an alternate construction is to be recognized.

Other variations and modifications in features of construction will be apparent to those familiar with the art. Accordingly, this invention is not to be considered narrowly, but rather as co-extensive with the claims hereof.

What is claimed is:

1. An elastically hooded dispensing valve, comprising a resilient elastic seal member having an outlet bore,

6 a downward-presented seat resilient surface surrounding the bore, and an integral downward-extending skirt surrounding the seat surface, in combination with a substantially rigid valve member having a head portion including an outer peripheral surface within and sealedly engaged by the skirt, an upper closing surface normally presented against the seat surface, and an up-iiow passage extending through a portion of the closing surface so normally presented against the seat surface, thereby to be sealed, together with means to displace the valve member openingly from the seat surface downward a distance less than the downward extent of the skirt of the seal member, whereby, on such displacement, such sealing engagement of the skirt about the peripheral surface of the valve member is maintained, thereby to form an elastically hooded chamber, into which fluid within the container is pressure-driven through said up-ow passage and from which such fluid flows to the outlet bore. 2. An elastically hooded dispensing valve as defined in claim 1, wherein the location of the valve member up-flow passage in the closing surface is sideward of the seal bore, and the means to displace the valve member downward includes means to tilt its closing surface downward at the side at which said flow passage is located, whereby controlled tilting thereof effects controlled flow through the up-flow passage and to the outlet bore. 3. An elastically hooded dispensing valve as defined in claim 1, wherein a downward extending flow-communicating tube is engaged in ilow communication with said up-fiow passage, whereby to deliver, to such hooded chamber, uid from a level of such container spacedly beneath said valve member. 4. An elastically hooded dispensing valve as defined in claim 3, wherein the said means to displace the valve member downward includes also means selectively to tilt its closing surface downward at the side opposite to said flow passage, and purging channel means, at the side opposite to said upflow passage, between said peripheral surface and the `skirt at said opposite side, to provide ow communication to the valve seat surface from the adjacent upper portion of such container, in combination with means to urge the closing surface upward to closed position against the valve seat, whereby, in tilting downward at either side, the resilient seat is deformed on the opposite side and by such deformation maintains such opposite side sealed despite such tilting. 5. An elastically hooded dispensing valve as defined in claim 3, wherein the dispensing valve further includes a container top having an aperture along an axis, the seal includes an upwardly extending tubular wall portion concentric with the outlet bore and mounted in the aperture, and the rigid valve member has a stem portion normally concentric with said axis, the thickness of said stem being less than the inner diameter of said tubular Wall portion at the level of the container top aperture, whereby on tilting the stem portion may move therein radially outward from the axis, and wherein the means to displace the valve member and tilt its closing surface downward comprises a dispensing tip member having a sideward presented nozzle outlet, further having means to engage the tubular wall portion of the seal and conduct flow therefrom through said dispensing tip and means to engage the outer end of the valve stem portion and impart a tilting force thereto,

whereby, with lateral movement of the head portion restrained by the skirt of the seal, the valve member pivots tiltingly at the engagement of its head portion with its skirt, and the stem portion moves radially outward from the axis at the level of the container top aperture.

6. An elastically hooded dispensing valve as defined in claim 5, wherein the upper end of the stem portion includes a radial keying projection angularly indexed relative to the sideward location of the up-ow passage, and wherein the dispensing tip member has a keyhole-like aperture including a central portion, suiiicient in cross-section to receive and bear against the stem portion beneath said projection, and a slot portion extending therefrom, sufiicient in cross-section to admit said projection,

the dispensing tip member further having means adjacent to said keyhole-like aperture to seat said keying projection,

whereby, on applying the dispensing tip so that its keyhole-like aperture passes over the valve member keying projection, and on then turning the tip so that its nozzle is angularly in position for cooperation with the up-ow passage, the dispensing tip and valve member are secured in keyed alignment.

7. An elastically hooded dispensing valve as defined in claim 5, wherein the tubular wall portion of the seal has an annular ange overlaying the edge of the container top aperture,

the dispensing tip member overlays the tubular wall portion of the seal, and

the dispensing tip member has means to hold the valve stem portion against downward relative movement,

whereby tilting of the valve member by pivoting at the peripheral edge of its head portion is opposed by compression ofthe seal Harige between the dispensing tip member and the container top, and such tilting causes the head portion to deform the resilient seat surface of the seal adjacent to the point of such pivoting and there maintain continued sealing engagement, despite tilt opening at the opposite side of the head portion.

8. An elastically hooded dispensing valve as defined in claim 7, wherein the said means to tilt the closing surface includes also means to tilt same selectively downward at the side opposite to said flow passage, in combination with purging channel means, between the valve head peripheral surface and the skirt, at the side opposite to the up-flow passage, to provide ow communication to the valve seat surface from the adjacent upper portion of such container when the valve member closing surface is tilted downward at the side opposite to said up-iiow passage whereby, on tilting to open either the up-flow passage or the purging channel means, the other remains closed.

9. A dispensing valve assembly angularly indexed for opening and sideward dispensing by tilting, comprising a container top having an aperture along an axis,

an elastic seal having an upwardly extending tubular wall portion mounted in and concentric with the aperture,

the seal including a resilient seat portion beneath the container top and sideward of the axis, together with a rigid valve member including a head portion having a closing surface normally presented against the seat portion of the seal, further having means at said surface sideward of the axis and normally closed by the valve seat portion to permit up-ow from a level spacedly beneath, and

an outwardly extending stem portion normally concentric with said axis,

the stem portion having a key-like upper end including a keying projection at a fixed angular position relative to the sideward location of the up-ow passage, in combination with a dispensing tip member having a sideward directed nozzle outlet portion,

a lower sleeve-like portion engaging theV tubular wall portion of the seal in now-conducting relation, and

a juncture of said Iportions including a keyhole-like flow communicating passage having a central portion sufficient in cross-section to receive and bear against the stem portion beneath its said projection and a slot portion sufficient in cross-section to admit said projection,

the dispensing tip member further having, adjacent to said slot portion, means t0 seat said projection at a predetermined angular alignment 'between the nozzle outlet and the up-flow passage.

10. A dispensing valve assembly as deined in claim 9,

wherein the seal has an annular flange overlaying the edge of the container top aperture, and wherein the engagement of the lower sleeve-like portion to the tubular wall of the seal includes engagement of the outer surface of said tubular wall portion, and

said sleeve-like portion has at its lower margin an annular seat overlaying the ange of the seal,

whereby to provide together a circular track for angular movement of the dispensing tip member into a final aligned position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1959 Campbell Z22-402.25 X 9/1952 Michel Z22- 402.16 X 6/1958 Sotfer et al. Z22-402.16 6/ 1962 Wentz 1 Z22-402.25 X

SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner. 

